LaVicka leaves ESPN 106.3, future unsure
It was not a belated April Fools’ joke. In a shocking farewell announcement Tuesday, longtime sports radio host Ken LaVicka said on his ESPN 106.3 midday show that it was his last day and he was leaving the station.
LaVicka has had a show on the West Palm Beach radio station for 17 years with the popular “LaVicka, Theo and Stone” on air for the past three years. During LaVicka’s goodbye, he mentioned Theo Dorsey would remain at the station with an unspecified gig and indicated a station shake-up.
According to a source, Dorsey will begin his own show Monday.
At noon Wednesday, the sports station aired ESPN’s national show hosted by Chris Carlin. LaVicka’s program had normally run from noon to 2 p.m., followed by Carlin. Direct messages to LaVicka were not returned.
“The show is over, the show is done,” LaVicka said, according to Barrett Sports Media.
“A decision has been made here at ESPN West Palm, a bit of a restructuring is the best way to put it. And we were notified yesterday that today (Tuesday), in fact 20 minutes from now, ‘LaVicka, Theo and Stone,‘ this little thing that we have cobbled together is coming to a conclusion today and by conclusion, I mean that’s it. There’s no more radio show. You no longer have this at noon.”
LaVicka called it “a management decision.”
Stephanie Prince, the station’s general manager, said in a statement to The Palm Beach Post, in part:
“LaVicka is still a teammate, and we are working with him on his future. We are always on the lookout for talent who can bring a new perspective to the market. We are putting more resources into both our radio and digital platforms to engage and reach the most fans, as consumption continues to evolve, as well as provide our partners more opportunities to reach those fans.”
Prince said the station, owned by Good Karma Brands, will announce its new schedule next week.
On the April 2 goodbye show, LaVicka said, “I don’t know what (my) next step is going to be. I don’t know if that is going to be as a sports talk radio host. I don’t know if it is going to be as a playby-play man. I don’t know if it’s going to be in a digital capacity where I’m in front of a camera or a combination of all of those things … This is scary for me because there’s a lot of unknown.”
“I want to be clear about this; yes, this is a management decision here at ESPN 106.3. But this is not a layoff, this is not me being fired and honestly, it’s not even a separation.”
After that final broadcast, LaVicka tweeted, “I want to thank everyone who reached out. Bizarre day, but I got a last day. Almost NOBODY gets a last day. I appreciate you Palm Beach Co. & the Treasure Coast...& South Florida. On to the next thing. I’ll resurface looking like Liver King.”